Sami Salo

Sami Salo was a ninth round pick of Ottawa's in 1996 and signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent last summer. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mark Malinowski
2013-02-03 09:10:00

Status: Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman.

DOB: Sept. 2, 1974 In: Turku, Finland

Ht: 6-foot-3 Wt: 212 pounds

First Hockey Memory: "I think when I got a pair of skates for Christmas. First memory of something that was part of hockey. (Remember the brand?) Yeah, I remember that, Bauer. I wore them in my sleep. I remember that (smiles)."

Hockey Inspirations: "There's been a lot of great Finnish players - Jari Kurri, Esa Tikkanen, Reijo Ruotsalainen. Those were big names back when I was younger. Obviously looked up to them, but never really had a dream that I was gonna play in the NHL. It was more about having fun with the friends. It became reality at the end."